On Tuesday afternoon, Tempe residents lined up to help Mayor Hugh Hallman release fish into Tempe Town Lake as local singer Chuck E. Baby sang “You get a line, I’ll get a pole. We’re going down to Tempe’s big ol’ fishin’ hole.”

More than 3,000 1-year-old rainbow trout were released into the lake by the Arizona Game and Fish Department to replenish the fish supply, because conditions in the lake prevent the fish from spawning, said Bill Larson, a Game and Fish sports fishing education program member.

Many families brought their young children to the event to learn how to fish and take advantage of free fishing equipment from the Arizona Game and Fish Department.

Lee Whatton brought his 7-year-old granddaughter to the event to spend quality time with her on her birthday.

“I thought it was a good opportunity to get out here fishing,” Whatton said. “It brings the community together, it gets the youth involved with fishing and being outdoors, instead of sitting there with the video games all the time.”

Whatton’s granddaughter Hayley helped the mayor dump some of the first fish into the lake and summed up her first fishing experience as “slimy.”

Larson said the Arizona Game and Fish Department used the day as a way to educate the public about fish and the urban fishing program in Arizona, which stocks urban lakes with fish.

Arizona Game and Fish offered informational brochures for the event’s guests, including rainbow trout bookmarks.

“It’s a way for us to get with the community and let kids have the opportunity to see something they can do the rest of their lives,” Larson said. “It’s a great way to introduce them to fish.”

Tempe City Councilwoman Onnie Shekerjian said she came to the event because she wanted to support one of the events Tempe offers its citizens.

“It’s an important part of what we do in terms of the amenities we provide for our community. Very few communities provide these kind of amenities — Tempe is a very unique place,” Shekerjian said. “I chose to live in Tempe 24 years ago, and we chose it because of the amenities it offers families.”

Many parent-child relationships are strained today because of children’s dependence on technology, she said.

“Sometimes we forget that the best way to communicate is face-to-face and sometimes it’s sitting side by side with a fishing pole,” Shekerjian said. “It’s those times that good conversations take place and personal relationships are created with your children.”

Reach the reporter at michelle.parks@asu.edu.